Patty Murray

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are just over a week into Republicans' shutdown and just over 3 weeks from open enrollment, when massive premium hikes become a stone-cold reality for our families. Yet Republican leaders refuse to sit down and talk with us about addressing both of those challenges. President Trump and Russ Vought are just openly--gleefully--plotting how they can make this shutdown as painful as possible. House Republicans are not even here for the third week in a row, and Leader Thune has refused to do anything other than vote on the same, failed, partisan CR over and over and over. The clock is ticking. Republicans would rather sit on their hands than sit down at the table. When we ask to talk about healthcare, the only word that the Republican leader seems to know is ``later.'' Excuse me. But why couldn't we have addressed this challenge any earlier? The Republican leader bent over backward to shovel new tax cuts at billionaires earlier this year. He did not tell CEOs to wait when it came to Republican tax breaks that expire at the end of this year. Why is he telling families now to wait when rates are being set now? when price announcements will be in the mail any day now? and when open enrollment is right around the corner? Why do Republicans want to wait until higher rates are locked in and families are priced out of healthcare? We have to tackle this before those rates are locked. I have been warning for months about what this will mean for Washington State and for our country. Maybe the Republican leader needs to hear about what this means for his constituents. In South Dakota, there are 50,000 people who rely on the healthcare tax credits to get their health coverage. On average, those South Dakota families will see their premiums more than triple if Republicans refuse to save the tax credits. These are hard-working families, including many farmers. And it is not just a challenge in South Dakota. Over a quarter of farmers in our country are covered through those exchanges. Do any of my colleagues think we should do nothing while farmers lose their healthcare? Do any of my colleagues want to stand by while families across the country see their premiums double? You know, we have common ground here, but that doesn't do any good when Republicans refuse--outright refuse--to come to the table and negotiate. It doesn't do a lot of good when House Republicans are out on vacation for the third week in a row. You know, this clock has been ticking all year long, and the time to avoid those massive premiums is just about up. There is no waiting. There is no later. You can either start talking with us now to reopen the government and act to stop premium hikes before the open enrollment or you can talk to your constituents about why you decided to sit on your hands and do diddly- squat as their premiums went through the roof. The choice is yours. The Democrats are here. We are still at the table. We have always been here. We have never left. We are ready today--today--to work out a serious deal to address the healthcare crisis and reopen the government. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, let me just start by giving our lawless President and OMB Director a little primer on the letter of the law because this morning, we learned they are plotting to try to rob furloughed Federal workers of backpay at the end of this shutdown. This flies in the face of the plain text of the law, which could not be more clear. President Trump should actually know this. He has caused more shutdowns than any other President, after all, and he signed the law that guaranteed their pay. It is not new, it is not surprising, and, in fact, OPM guidance that the administration actually issued last month reaffirmed that furloughed employees will be paid. Trump doesn't get to change the rules and rob workers just because he is worried his shutdown is backfiring. Scaring and intimidating workers will not work. He is not fooling anyone. I know Republican leaders desperately want to ignore the looming healthcare crisis they caused. They have put their heads in the sand for months. They have spun wild lies to try to bury the truth, and they are hoping people stop talking about it. But every day, that gets just harder because every day, another warning light goes off showing just how devastating it will be if Republicans refuse to extend the ACA tax credits and let people's premiums skyrocket. A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 7 out of 10 families would not be able to afford their coverage if premiums doubled, and 4 in 10 would likely just go uninsured. That means that people will skip their basic care, they will skimp on their prescriptions, and they will miss lifesaving treatments. The hard reality is that people will die-- people who otherwise would have sought the care they needed. To every Republican who thinks they can keep sitting on their hands and waiting this out, you need to understand this is not some distant crisis you can ignore. Premiums are being locked in right now. Letters are going out to families announcing shocking price increases this month. In Idaho, open enrollment actually starts next week. How is that not urgent to every Republican who keeps trying to say ``We can talk about this later''? ``Later'' is simply too late. By the way, why wouldn't Republican leaders talk about this earlier? We have been asking to fix this for months and months and months. For all the talk of ``Oh, we can't discuss healthcare while government is shut down,'' well, you didn't discuss it while government was open either. Where have you been? And where are you right now, for that matter? House Republicans are not even here, and they have not been here for 3 weeks. I cannot help but note the stark contrast between how little House Republicans seem to care about opening up the government and preventing massive healthcare hikes and how much they cared about shoveling trillions in tax breaks at some of the richest people in the world earlier this year. Where is that urgency now? I mean, when the tax breaks for billionaires were set to expire in December, that was the same time as these healthcare credits expire. Republicans made that priority No. 1. You can bet they fast-tracked relief for the bigwigs and fat cats because heaven forbid billionaires like Trump have to worry about filling up their private jets. But families worried about healthcare? Republican leaders refuse to talk about it. They voted down efforts to save these tax credits three times before government funding was even in question, and they have spent the last few weeks saying that our insistence on preventing people's premiums from doubling is ``unreasonable.'' Unreasonable? Even now, the best Republicans can offer is that later we can maybe, possibly, talk about potentially doing something someday. That is pretty cold comfort to families who are staring down thousands upon thousands in higher healthcare costs next year. Those premium hikes aren't maybe happening someday; they are for real, and they are getting finalized right now. If the Republican leader would rather send us home for the weekend than have a serious conversation; if House Republicans want to keep hiding as far as they can from the negotiating table; if you are going to not talk with us, then I beg my colleagues to at least talk to your constituents and see what this healthcare crisis looks like for them, because here is the thing Republicans seem especially keen to ignore: This is a problem where inaction will overwhelmingly hurt their own constituents. News flash for my colleagues: Over three-quarters of the families with healthcare coverage through the ACA marketplace are in red States. Do you know which five States will see the highest healthcare rate hikes next year? West Virginia is looking at a 387-percent rate hike for families that rely on ACA tax credits; Wyoming, 382 percent; Alaska, a 346-percent rate hike; Tennessee, 320 percent; and Mississippi, 314 percent. Those are five red States where premiums are going to more than quadruple for families that rely on those tax credits. But do you know what? Let's keep going. Let's do the next five. These are States where the average premium will more than triple for families relying on the tax credits: Texas, a 289-percent increase; South Carolina, 285 percent; Alabama, 284 percent; South Dakota, 235 percent; and North Dakota, 234 percent. So there you have it, the 10 States facing the biggest healthcare increases if Republicans refuse to act, all red States. And you know what--I can still go on--premiums are going to more than double for families relying on the tax credits for States like Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, nearly every other red State. So the bottom line is, a lot of people are going to be hurt if Republicans refuse to save healthcare, and they are represented by Republicans. At least, they would be represented by Republicans, but our House colleagues are nowhere to be found. They have been gone for 3 weeks. So my message to Republican leaders: You need to get serious about opening up the government and addressing the healthcare crisis before those premiums double for families across the country. You need to get serious now before those higher costs are locked in and before families back home decide they can't afford to stay healthy. And, you know, even if Republicans want to hide from the negotiating table, they are not going to be able to hide from this issue because if they stay home and refuse to come back to DC to hammer out a solution, the people they represent back home are going to make their voices heard about this. They are going to say: Hey, my monthly premium is going up by over a thousand bucks--monthly premium. What are you doing about that? They are going to say: Hey, I am going to lose my healthcare. What am I supposed to do? They are going to say: Hey, if you care so much about opening the government like you say, if you care so much about lowering costs, why don't you get back and go to work? When that message breaks through to all the Republicans who are just trying to ignore it, as I think it is very clear it is beginning to, here is another message for them: Democrats are still here. We are still at the table. And we are still ready to work together on a bipartisan deal to reopen the government and address this healthcare crisis. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are 3 days into a government shutdown, and we are in the middle of a healthcare crisis entirely of Republicans' making. A new poll shows that nearly 80 percent of Americans--that is 4 in 5--want Republicans to work with us to stop their premiums from doubling. So what is the holdup? After all, as we speak, health plans are in the middle of locking in massive rate increases, and those notices will be in the mail any day now. These are two serious issues facing our country. Yet Trump and Republican leaders are refusing to take any of them seriously. On healthcare, they have decided to shut down the government rather than work with us, and they have decided they would rather make up lies about illegal immigrants than to talk about the actual issue at stake: the reality that Republicans are letting premiums more than double. News flash: Republican areas are actually going to face some of the biggest price jumps if they refuse to save healthcare. Small businesses are going to take a hit, not to mention farmers. One-quarter of our farmers are covered on the ACA exchanges, so this healthcare crisis is a big concern for them. Millions of families across the country are about to see their monthly healthcare costs jump by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars, and the Republicans' plan here seems to be, I hope no one notices. That is out of touch. Maybe a couple thousand dollars here and there seems like no big deal when you take your marching orders from billionaires like Donald Trump, but if Republicans talked to everyday families and fewer rich billionaires, they would understand that the healthcare crisis Republicans are ignoring is going to devastate folks back home. Millions of people are going to be priced out of their insurance. They will skip their basic healthcare. They will skimp on their medication. They will miss out on lifesaving treatments. It is no exaggeration to say people will die. There is no avoiding that reality, although Republicans seem determined to try. On the shutdown, Trump and Republican leadership are not taking this seriously. President Trump has made clear that he doesn't see this shutdown as a problem to solve; he sees a shutdown as an opportunity to hurt people. He sees a shutdown as an opening to make good on even more of the awful promises of Project 2025. Trump sees a shutdown as an excuse to harm whoever he wants and do whatever he wants, even and maybe especially if it hurts folks back home. The Trump administration actually isn't even trying to hide that fact. They are targeting their cuts at blue States, they are talking about canceling Democratic priorities, and they are threatening our constituents if we do not bend the knee. No one can believe President Trump is serious about ending this shutdown when he is more focused on tweeting out fake sombrero pictures and showing Russ Vought as the Grim Reaper than he is on working on a deal. No one can believe President Trump seriously cares whether he is hurting everyday Americans when the only thing he is focused on is taking the opportunity to punish the American people with cruel cuts and cruel firings, which don't just hurt Democrats, they hurt his own voters as well. I should mention that no one can believe Republican leadership is serious about ending the shutdown, either, when Senate Republicans are holding the same vote over and over while refusing to start serious negotiations. By the way, House Republicans are not even here in town. Instead of talking about addressing healthcare, they are just saying ``wait'' or ``later.'' Democrats have been waiting. We have been trying to save the healthcare tax credits for months. We cannot wait any longer. ``Later'' is too late. The irony of Republicans telling us to wait on healthcare is as rich as the people they shoveled tax breaks on earlier this year, because, let's not forget, earlier this year, Republicans chose to spend a lot of time here and a lot of effort extending the tax cuts for wealthy CEOs. Those tax cuts were set to expire at the end of this year, just like the ACA tax credits we are talking about now. What did Republicans do? Did they tell the billionaires to wait? No. Republicans moved Heaven and Earth to save the tax cuts for those billionaires, but now they won't move a muscle to save families from skyrocketing healthcare costs. Republican leaders can't be bothered. When billionaires have a tax cut expiring at the end of the year, it is all hands on deck for Republican leadership, even if it means throwing working families overboard with a trillion dollars in healthcare cuts families will need to cover out of their own pocket or go without coverage. But when healthcare is on the brink, when healthcare premiums are being locked in right now--right now--and when they are going to double for our families, Republicans are nowhere to be found. I mean that literally. House Republicans have not been here all week. They are missing in action. They should be rushing back to work on a solution. But Republican leaders seem to be moving in the opposite direction, forcing a vote on the same failed partisan bill for the fourth time. Mr. President, we are at the table. We want to be here. We want to find a solution. We want to reopen the government. We want to prevent families' costs from skyrocketing. I hope Republicans decide they are ready to join us. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, well, it is not even 1 day after Republicans chose to shut down the government instead of making any sort of progress on stopping healthcare premiums from skyrocketing, and it is already painfully clear that Republican leadership is not taking any of this seriously. Republican leadership doesn't care if millions of Americans lose their health insurance. Republican leadership does not care if your healthcare costs go through the roof. And despite a lot of showboating yesterday, Republican leadership obviously doesn't care how long this shutdown goes on. Just consider, if Republican leadership and President Trump actually cared about reopening the government, Trump would not be tweeting AI deepfakes and mariachi music or bragging about how he can't wait to use a shutdown as an excuse to inflict more pain on the American people. If they actually cared about reopening the government, Russ Vought wouldn't be saying he will fire everyone he can no matter if firing them is necessary or not and no matter how harmful it is or not. If they actually cared about reopening the government, Republican leaders would not be pressing ahead with the same failed bill as yesterday and refusing to finally work with Democrats to finalize a solution. If Republican leadership actually cared about reopening the government, House Republicans would actually be here. Let me say that again: House Republicans are not even here. Are we supposed to believe they are taking this seriously? I guess not. And if Republican leadership actually cared about reopening the government, they would be talking with us about how the actual issues we want to address, how to stop skyrocketing health prices, hospital closures, and millions of patients from losing their health insurance. Instead, they are screaming ``illegal immigration'' and telling bold- faced lies about Democrats' proposal to try and talk about anything but healthcare. That really gives away the game Republican leaders are playing with the American people, doesn't it? Democrats want Republicans to sit down at the table for a serious negotiation about really serious issues. But Republican leadership is off playing make-believe in la-la land. How are we supposed to negotiate with President Trump when he is busy frying his mind in an AI fantasy world of mariachi bands and science fiction medbeds and who knows what next? And how are we supposed to negotiate with Republican leaders when they are refusing to work on a bipartisan path out and just making lies up about our Democratic proposals? For everyone who has only heard the Republican nonsense, let me make our agenda clear. Here is what Democrats actually want to do: We want to stop your healthcare premiums from doubling next year. We want to stop millions of people from getting priced out of their insurance and getting sick or going without care. We want to stop hospitals from closing. I wonder why Republicans have such a hard time being honest about that? Well, maybe because they caused this healthcare crisis in the first place. And let's be crystal clear, it is not honest for Republicans to try and just say: Oh, well, we can just talk about healthcare later. We pinkie promise. Rate hikes are being finalized right now. Notices for massive price increases will land in our families' mailboxes this month. Open enrollment starts in a matter of a few weeks. That means families are going to start seeing their premiums double. People are going to get priced out of coverage; that is, unless we act now. There is no waiting; we have been waiting. There is no later; that is too late. Are Republicans saying they will not talk about solutions until the damage is done? Are they saying they want to lock in the high healthcare rates first? You know, the best time to put out a fire is before it burns down the house. Surely, Republicans don't need me to tell them that. But if Republicans insist on asking why we can't address healthcare later, I have got a few questions for them. First off, why the heck couldn't we talk about healthcare sooner, huh? Where in the world have you been? You moved Heaven and Earth to pass new tax breaks for billionaires by cutting over $1 trillion from Americans' healthcare. Why won't you move a muscle to save healthcare for our working families? I mean, my goodness, why is it not until there is a shutdown that Republican leaders will even say we can at least talk about healthcare? Oh, but not yet. If a shutdown is the first time Republican leaders will even acknowledge in the slightest whisper the looming healthcare crisis, why should we trust for one second you will keep your word later? Republicans have been choosing to ignore this healthcare crisis for months, and now they face another choice: How much longer are they going to insist on this partisan path? How much longer are they going to stick their heads in the sand? Because I will warn them: The American people cannot wait. One family in my State of Washington is about to see their premiums jump from $283 a month to as high as $1,800 a month if Republicans insist on inaction, and I know they are not the only ones. To my Republican colleagues who don't think this is a crisis, to anyone who thinks healthcare can wait: Go out and talk to people, talk to insurance companies in your State or doctors or hospitals or patients, and then come to the table and talk with us. We are here. We are ready to work on real solutions to address this healthcare crisis and reopen the government. I have been at the table the whole time. I am here. I am ready. I am willing to work out a real solution to get this done. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, Democrats do not want a shutdown. Democrats also do not want millions of American families to go bankrupt next year because their healthcare premiums more than doubled. Democrats do not want people to get kicked off their healthcare, get sick, or even die. Democrats want to stop our rural hospitals from closing and laying off more staff. We have been clear about this for weeks and weeks and weeks. All along, Democrats have made clear we are ready to hammer out a solution to prevent a shutdown and save people's healthcare. But I am afraid that at every step of the way, Republican leadership has made clear they would rather shut down the government than make sure people can afford healthcare. Apparently, working with Democrats to save American families money and keep the government open is too much for Republican leadership because their plan so far has been to let healthcare premiums double--double--next year and insist that Democrats swallow a bill that does nothing on healthcare. President Trump and Republicans in Congress would rather shut down the government than have serious negotiations to lower costs, save healthcare, and prevent a shutdown. Unfortunately, Republicans decided on the shutdown track weeks ago and have done nothing to steer away from that cliff. This is not hard to understand. Republican leadership has not been subtle. If Republicans were serious about avoiding a shutdown, they would not have skipped town last week, and Speaker Johnson wouldn't be refusing to return lawmakers until after the funding deadline. If Republicans were serious about avoiding a shutdown, they wouldn't be holding a vote on a bill that already failed and that, I should say, actually got fewer votes than Democrats' bill since eight Republican Senators didn't even bother to show up to take that vote. If Republican leadership was serious about avoiding a shutdown, they wouldn't be refusing to hold the vote until the last minute. If Republican leadership was serious about avoiding a shutdown, Trump wouldn't say: Don't bother dealing with Democrats. He wouldn't shrug his shoulders and say: If it has to shut down, it will shut down. If Republican leadership was serious about avoiding a shutdown, they would not have waited until the last possible moment to hold the meeting that could have happened weeks ago, and they would have listened and negotiated at that meeting instead of just saying ``my way or the highway.'' Ask yourself this: If Donald Trump and Republican leadership were serious about preventing a shutdown, would Trump be tweeting out completely unserious, AI videos riddled with lies, debunked conspiracies, and mariachi music? Would they be toying with the lives of public servants and threatening to fire more of them when they know the vital role that they all play in providing services to the American people? Come on. The President is thrilled to be shutting things down and sowing division, not working to solve the problem. He is showing every day how unserious he is in this moment. Let's look at this another way. What would the Trump administration and Republicans be doing if they wanted a shutdown? Well, if President Trump and Republicans wanted a shutdown, they might be planning how to cause as much damage as possible, planning how they would hurt women and children who need vital nutrition assistance. The administration might be planning to conduct a shutdown as a pretext to conduct more of the mass firings we have seen for months and inflict more pain. Republicans might openly talk about how Trump ``welcomes'' a shutdown and how they will use it to advance their extreme agenda--exactly like Russ Vought and his team at OMB are doing and have been doing. If President Trump wanted a shutdown, he might be scheduling meetings with Democratic leaders, only to cancel them and finally reschedule them at the last possible moment--exactly as he just did. If Republican leadership wanted a shutdown, they might mischaracterize what Democrats' position is because they know that refusing to lower costs and protect people's healthcare, which is what they have been doing, is not popular. And, of course, mischaracterizing Democrats' positions is exactly what Republican leadership has been doing. I swear, the only way President Trump knows how to compose a sentence is noun, verb, illegal immigrant. And hey, why not throw in ``transgender'' for good measure? That is how he aims to sow division and hatred. Are they serious? American citizens across the country are starting to get letters now warning that their premiums are set to double. Hospitals are already closing or laying off staff and not for no reason in particular--this healthcare crisis is happening explicitly because of Republican policy decisions. Instead of talking with us about addressing healthcare from the start, Republicans decided to pass a partisan CR. They decided they would do nothing about the fact that healthcare premiums are about to skyrocket. They decided they preferred a shutdown because they don't want to act in time to prevent families from paying dearly with exploding healthcare costs. Good luck explaining that to the American people. Good luck arguing: Sorry Republicans left town until the eleventh hour and shut down the government, but, you see, we wanted to make sure you couldn't afford healthcare. Good luck saying that to your constituents. Good luck saying: You don't understand, those radical Democrats demanded we stop your premiums from more than doubling next year. It is not going to fly. The American people are a whole lot smarter than that. Despite all this, Republican leadership is pretending they want to talk about healthcare later. The reality Republicans won't talk about is that higher premiums are being announced right now. Let's be clear about that because it underscores why addressing healthcare is so urgent. The reason we need to start this conversation right now is because people will receive letters in the mail with their new rates next month. In Idaho, open enrollment will begin October 15. We already know those rates are going to be much higher if Republicans insist on inaction. We already know millions of people are going to start losing their insurance. They will be priced out if we don't get this dealt with soon. It is worth noting that according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a quarter--a quarter--of our farmers and ranchers are enrolled through the healthcare marketplace, and nearly one-half of marketplace enrollees are small business owners, small business workers, or self- employed. Why do Republicans want to price farmers out of healthcare? Why don't they care about small businesses and their workers? I heard about one family in my home State of Washington who learned that if Republicans get their way on this, their healthcare premium could jump from $278 a month to as much as $1,800 a month. And they are far from alone in staring down a huge, huge healthcare increase if Republicans refuse to act now. Millions of families are going to see their healthcare costs jump by thousands of dollars. That is why we have to act. That is what Democrats want to avoid. That is what we want to avoid, and we know we have to do this now, but still, Republican leadership has refused to start that conversation. Meanwhile, Democrats are at the table. We have ideas ready to go. Democrats put forward our proposal for funding the government--not, as Republicans are pretending, as a ``take it or leave it'' demand but a proposal, one with several key issues we want to discuss with Republicans. We want to talk about how we stop Republicans' Medicaid cuts before our families get kicked off their healthcare and before Republican cuts shutter many of our rural hospitals. We want to talk about how we can stop Russ Vought from stealing money for cancer research. We want to talk about how we save the healthcare tax credits that tens of millions depend on before those higher premiums kick in and get locked in, before families decide they just can't afford their coverage--in short, before it is too late--because if Republicans insist on sitting on their hands, if they decide to wait until the last minute to finally work with us to save these credits, 1\1/2\ million Americans will lose their healthcare. Again, that is if we do pass an extension at the last minute. If Republicans never get serious about this at all, it is going to be even worse. But even delay has a real cost and one that is paid for by our families. So it is time for Republicans to get serious. Despite what Republicans are pretending, Democrats are not asking for the Moon here. We are literally just insisting that Congress take action to address the looming healthcare crisis that they themselves caused. It is shocking that Republican leaders are digging in so deep against doing this now. If nothing changes, that is a pretty ominous sign. I hope, despite the completely partisan path Republicans are on right now, they will come to their senses and come to the table because I don't just want us to keep the government open with a deal brokered by both sides; I want to stop the enormous price increase that is about to hit families. I want us to ultimately get those full-year funding bills that help people--I want those to get signed into law. Here we are. I have to say that right now, what we see is Russ Vought trying to hold government workers hostage. Right now, we have House Republicans refusing to even come back here to DC to do their jobs until next week. Right now, we have Senate Republicans replaying a failed vote. Look, if Republicans want to avoid a shutdown like Democrats want to avoid a shutdown, then stop spending so much time saying you will sit down with us on healthcare later. Spend that time working with us right now. But if Republicans insist on writing a bill without any Democrats, they better pass it without Democrats, too, because I am a no. Democrats will continue to work to keep government open and to save your healthcare. I am ready to keep the government open, as I said many times over the last several weeks, and I am ready and I am willing to stay at the table for as long as it takes. The question here remains, will Republican leadership get serious and negotiate? I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that there now be 2 minutes of debate, equally divided, prior to this cloture vote.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this bill has a very nice-sounding name, but that is about the only good thing you can say about it because what it really does is hand over Congress's power of the purse to Donald Trump and Russ Vought. If this bill passes, it won't just be Democrats' voice in funding that gets squashed; Republicans will be cutting themselves out of funding decisions because the bill extends government funding indefinitely so Donald Trump and Russ Vought never have to worry about Congress again. If this bill were to pass, Trump could quite literally refuse to sign every funding bill--even a bipartisan bill--unless it met all of his demands. And Congress would then have to override his veto with a two- thirds vote in both Chambers if we ever wanted to get off the ``forever CR'' this bill would put in place. No way. There is a very simple way to avert a shutdown. It starts with Republicans working with Democrats to hammer out a solution. It is time to do that. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, in just a short bit, we are going to vote on a bill that Democrats introduced earlier this week that does a couple of critical things. First of all, it prevents a needless shutdown at the end of this month, and it gives us more time to hammer out the funding bills that help get families by and ensure Congress--not Donald Trump or Russ Vought-- decides how our taxpayer dollars are spent. Secondly, this bill takes critical steps to prevent Russ Vought from stealing money from cancer research or Trump deciding unilaterally he is going to cut off funding he doesn't like. Third, it provides critical new security resources to keep Federal officials safe and help ensure political violence does not tear further at the fabric of our democracy. And, fourth, this bill addresses the looming Republican healthcare crisis to stop healthcare costs from rocketing up and our rural hospitals from shutting down. These are four priorities that I think every single Member of Congress should be able to agree with. I am afraid that while some of my Republican colleagues say they want to address the healthcare tax credits, they are quick to caveat that now is not the right time. Republican leaders said as much. So I have to ask: When is the time? It seems to me the time is now. When Republicans say they don't want to talk about healthcare yet, what they are saying is, they don't want to talk about it until a lot of the damage has been done because premium hikes are already being announced and people will receive letters in the mail with their new rates next month. So the time to act, really, is now. The clock is ticking, but Republicans don't want to even have a conversation about that yet. Well, Democrats are forcing a conversation. Our bill will not only avoid a government shutdown and give us time to continue working on our funding bills, it would address the imminent healthcare crisis, preventing premiums from skyrocketing by extending healthcare tax credits before those higher premiums kick in and are locked in and reversing Republicans' massive Medicaid cuts that will kick millions off of their insurance and shutter hospitals. This vote will show America who seriously wants to help our families afford healthcare and keep those hospitals open and who is content to let those costs skyrocket and hospitals to close. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in voting yes on our bill that we would introduce this week on the Democrat side so we can act with the urgency this moment requires. Let me be clear: Do I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to join me in voting for this funding bill that we introduced? Absolutely. But if they choose not to, the Senate will move to consideration of the partisan House-passed CR. I want to be crystal clear here. There was and still is, in fact, a path to preventing a shutdown, and it starts with the Republican leadership finally sitting down with our Democratic leadership, something they have refused, for literally weeks, to do. You want Democratic votes on a funding bill? A good place to start is by actually trying to win those votes. But instead of so much as talking to Democrats about how to stop millions of Americans from losing their healthcare or seeing their premiums double or worse, the Republican leadership has decided to follow Trump's orders, blow off Democrats, and risk a Republican shutdown. I have had productive conversations with my fellow appropriators, but those conversations only mean so much when Republican leadership choses to pull the rug out from under us. Four-corner negotiations were positive, but leadership has to be involved to wrap those negotiations and at least discuss healthcare. If Republican leadership refuses to even speak with our Democratic leadership, where does that leave us? Instead of meeting us at the table to hammer out a bipartisan short-term CR, advance the critical work on those bills, and kick off serious talks on healthcare, House Republicans went off alone. They released a bill that utterly fails to address priorities that are top of mind for so many families. That is a choice Republicans have made, and it is downright callous. After all, if Republicans insist on inaction, higher premiums are going to be locked in for people across our country. That is the cost of delay. But Republicans are, essentially, saying the American people should just accept massive price increases for healthcare. And they expect Democrats to just simply go along. And even if Republicans decide to wait until the last minute for an extension, 1.5 million Americans will still lose their healthcare. Republicans are trying to act like just cutting one party out of those talks and then trying to demand their votes is somehow business as usual--no way; no thanks. I will be voting no on the Republican funding bill because there is a better way here. Why not sit down with our Democratic leadership to talk about how we pass the short-term CR, how we make progress, critical progress on our full-year funding bills, and how we handle this healthcare crisis? After all, Republicans are willing to say to the press, they want all of these things, they say it in front of the cameras. Why aren't they willing to say it in a room with Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries? Why aren't they willing to just meet and actually start charting a course on how we move forward on that? I think the main reason is Donald Trump. Again, he told Republicans don't even bother dealing with Democrats. Seems like Republican leaders are just afraid to cross the aisle and have a simple meeting, a mere conversation, if it risks losing Donald Trump. That is wrong, and it is dangerous because with rare exception, just about every bill we pass here in the Senate takes 60 votes. So to get things done for our families back home, Republicans need to work with Democrats. And if Republican leadership cannot find the courage to do that on what should be low-hanging fruit here, if they can't sit down with our Democratic leadership to talk about a short-term CR, what does that mean for the work we have been doing on our full-year spending bills? What does it mean for extending those healthcare tax credits? And what does it mean for any of the other challenging issues we would all like to work together on to address? It is deeply disappointing to me that the Republican leaders have chosen to go down the partisan route we are here on today. But there is still time to do the right thing. They should come to the table. I am a ``no'' on the Republican CR, but my colleagues should know I am committed to this process. After all, there is so much at stake in all of our annual funding bills. It matters tremendously that we fully fund WIC to make sure moms and babies don't go hungry; it is hugely important that we fund the VA to make sure our veterans are getting the quality of care we promised them when they come home. Families in my State and across the country are counting on us here in Congress to protect funding for childcare and Head Start so our kids can learn and grow. There are students and parents at school districts across America counting on us here in Congress to protect funding for kids with disabilities; for schools in some of our poorest communities. There are patients everywhere in the country who are desperately counting on us to do our job to federally fund cancer research in hopes of a cure or for a clinical trial that might give them some more time with their loved ones. I could go on--funding to replace lead pipes or to treat opioid addiction. The work we do in our Appropriations Committee matters. The outcomes that this Congress dictates over how we spend taxpayer dollars matter. It is hugely consequential for millions of Americans, and I am so glad that there is strong bipartisan support for so many of those programs because when we can all agree on something good, that is a win for all of our constituents. So, yes, I want us to find a way forward so we can keep working on our full-year spending bills that will actually help people. We have already passed eight of those spending bills out of our committee; three on the floor that we are working right now really hard to conference so they can be signed into law. These are all bills that help people and solve problems. None of us should want to hand the pen over to Russ Vought and give him or Trump or anyone else at the White House more power of our Federal spending. That is what another year-long continuing resolution would do. There is a better path forward. I would ask Republican leadership: Simply come to the table. Compromise is a very basic principle. Every American understands it. And if Republicans don't bother working with the Democrats just because Donald Trump told them to, this would be a Republican shutdown. The Republicans control all of government: the House, the Senate, the White House. The American people know who will be to blame. I ask that we work to move forward to choose a different path, work together and avert this shutdown. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this week, there are advocates here in Congress with the American Cancer Society to advocate for cancer research and prevention. This is lifesaving work, and no one does it better than our researchers. In my home State of Washington, we have a lot of incredibly smart people who have been making a lot of incredible breakthroughs for patients, and we have a lot of passionate advocates who have been fighting to support their work. I have lost track of how many times I have visited the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, but every time, I am just blown away by the work they are doing. And they aren't the only ones. This isn't just about advancing science though. It is about saving lives and finding new treatments and therapies and cures that give hope to help patients fighting for their lives. Cancer research has a long history of bipartisan support here in Congress. But some of my colleagues across the aisle seem to need a reminder and a wake-up call because under President Trump, we have seen some reckless moves to undermine medical research, including cancer research. Research funding has been pulled without reason, without warning, and without any thought for the consequences. This administration has tossed clinical trials into chaos, promising cures into limbo, and threatened to abandon our historic global research and leadership in medical research. Just this week, a new report in the New York Times detailed how research into a rare pediatric brain cancer was totally upended because Trump yanked the funding. That research is halted and that researcher is forced to move on to topics that don't rely on NIH funding. It is worth remembering, for many of our rare, deadly diseases, cures are not viewed as a payday for private investors, which makes NIH not just the best hope for finding a cure but the only hope for desperate patients, at least before Trump came along and stopped funding. And that new article, which details other research Trump has sidetracked as well, is just scratching the surface of how bad this is. I have heard firsthand from researchers who have seen their work disrupted and students who are considering leaving the United States to continue their studies. I have also received heartbreaking updates from patients, like a mom in my State fighting colon cancer who had her shot at a critical clinical trial taken away by Trump's chaotic, illegal funding cuts. And now, R.F.K., Jr., has cut off all Federal funding for mRNA research, one of the most promising new technologies for cancer treatments. This is so damaging. In addition to supporting the research that finds new cures, we also need to make sure patients can actually access and afford those cures. That means we have to protect health coverage that helps cancer patients get care. That is why I am fighting to undo damaging Medicaid cuts Republicans passed and to extend the healthcare tax credits that are helping millions of families afford coverage right now. We have to make a strong case for cancer research and prevention with facts, science, patient stories, and our voices. And I believe speaking out can have a real impact here because when I talk to colleagues on both sides, it is clear there is consensus we should not let years of leadership fall to the wayside. In fact, in our Senate funding bill, the bipartisan bill that we passed through the Appropriations Committee, we were able to reject some of these damaging cuts and make serious investments in cancer research. But we do have more work ahead to get these bipartisan medical research investments signed into law. I will not stop pushing for that. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today with a pretty simple message: Fire R.F.K., Jr. This man is burning down our public health system from the inside. We have got to take his matches and his keys away, and we need to do it now. We need to make his latest attack on public health--firing a CDC Director, why? Because she stood up for science. The stakes are sky- high. Our medical research, our public health, our pandemic preparedness, our food safety--R.F.K. Jr., is putting all of that in jeopardy and putting communities across this country in danger. We cannot put our heads into the sand. We absolutely need a Secretary of Health and Human Services--not a ``Secretary of Conspiracies,'' not a ``Secretary of Measles and Food Poisoning,'' certainly not a ``Secretary of Canceled Research and Chemtrail Nonsense.'' It does not take a shred of imagination to see how dangerous R.F.K., Jr.'s, leadership has been. It just takes two eyes and 2 seconds, if that. I mean, one of the first things he did right off the bat was fan the flames of a measles outbreak by ignoring the science, peddling quack treatments, and spreading falsehoods about vaccines. The result, no surprise, was the largest measles outbreak we have seen in decades, one that tragically took the lives of two children. Did that spark one iota of reflection from R.F.K., Jr.? Of course not. The largest measles outbreak since 1992, and do you know how R.F.K., Jr., described the response this week? Effective. Effective? Are you kidding me? I shudder to think what it would take for a man like that to admit failure. We should all hope that we never find out. Instead of learning even a single lesson, all he has done now is doubled down on doing as much damage as possible. When it comes to vaccines, he has not only spouted off nonsense and falsehoods to families who are looking to him for reliable guidance, he fired every single member of CDC's Vaccine Advisory Board, down to the very last one. And then he started replacing them with a who is who of anti-vax alarmists who have already started shaping Federal policy to fit their anti-science conspiracies. And when the new CDC Director--nominated by Trump, endorsed by R.F.K., Jr., himself, confirmed by the Senate--dared to stand up and say: You know, I think we should follow the science instead of nonsense, R.F.K., Jr., pushed to fire her too. This is unbelievable. Meanwhile, when it comes to medical research, he is tossing promising work and potential breakthroughs into the garbage. One example, mRNA research is on the cutting edge of medical innovation--not just for lifesaving vaccines, by the way, but for lifesaving cancer treatments. And you don't have to just take my word for it. President Trump's own health leaders championed mRNA research as groundbreaking scientific advancement. But with all the lives hanging in the balance, R.F.K., Jr., pulled the plug on all Federal funding for mRNA research. Now, not only is this a massive blow to our researchers and to our patients, but it is a massive win, by the way, for China, which just has been handed a huge opening to now take the lead on biomedical innovation. And mRNA research isn't the only cancer research R.F.K., Jr., has upended. He and Trump are cutting research grants across the board, across the country, and cutting patients off from clinical trials that were their last best chance at beating a deadly disease. They are now condemning some of these patients to death. They are killing their hope for a cure. And some of these patients are kids, are children. Last month, in fact, the National Cancer Institute's Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium stopped enrolling kids with brain cancer in clinical trials that could save their lives, all after Trump and R.F.K., Jr., ended Federal funding for that work. What do my colleagues want to say to those parents? I don't even know what there is to say. Yes, we can fight to restore funding. Yes, we will fight here to restore funding, especially as so many of Trump's cuts are, in fact, outright illegal. But we cannot restore from here lost time--invaluable time--for kids fighting an incredibly deadly disease. For some of them, it may be too late. And that is heartbreaking, and it is a direct result of R.F.K., Jr.'s, disastrous leadership at HHS. To my colleagues, ``sorry'' does not cut it, especially if you aren't sorry enough to demand the person who is responsible to be fired. What happened to the accountability Republicans pretend to care so much about? And that is not all. R.F.K., Jr., is sabotaging food safety. I am glad that some companies are now choosing to remove artificial dyes from some of their products. But when it comes to bedrock regulations that keep all Americans safe and prevent foodborne illnesses, R.F.K., Jr., may as well be pro-food poisoning because, on his watch, CDC is throwing in the towel on food safety monitoring. This summer, our food surveillance network stopped monitoring requirements for all but two dangerous pathogens. I know R.F.K., Jr., doesn't like listening to public health experts, but I don't think it takes an expert to understand listeria will not go away just because States don't track it. It will not go away because nobody is looking. Shigella outbreaks will not go away if you ignore them. Foodborne diseases sicken people. They actually kill people. This isn't about following the science. That is as plain as day. You don't follow the science by defunding it. You do not follow the science by shutting it down. And you don't follow the science by firing scientists. That is exactly how R.F.K., Jr., has been operating. As I mentioned last week, we saw some of the most egregious examples yet when he fired the CDC Director, all because she chose to listen to science instead of falsehoods, all because she insisted on protecting lives instead of pandering to anti-vax conspirators. As we continue to see the damaging aftershocks of R.F.K., Jr.'s, reckless decision to steamroll a CDC Director that refused to bow to his will, several other experienced, respected, trusted public health experts resigned from the CDC in protest. Some are now also sharing alarming allegations of the widespread culture of conspiracy and incompetence and willful ignorance of science that is now defining R.F.K.'s leadership. Just this week, 1,000--1,000--HHS workers demanded he resign because of how his actions are compromising the health of our Nation. And it is clear R.F.K., Jr., has no intention of changing gears. Earlier today, he had a Senate hearing, and he continued to flaunt his ignorance like a badge of honor, not even knowing the COVID death toll, outright lying about established science, refusing to take any accountability for his actions. Mr. President, great leaders leave behind a track record of accomplishments, but it is painfully clear R.F.K., Jr., will leave behind a body count. How high will it go? Well, that all depends on how long Republicans let him go around setting fires. How much damage will my colleagues let him do? How many children will die before they finally take action? We should not let him have one more day in power. I know some of my colleagues understand the grave reality of the situation. What I don't know is how long they are going to be willing to stay silent. You can talk about oversight; what are you actually doing? You can talk about the need to follow science, but that is not the path we are on. If you want to show us you are serious, if you want to save lives, you need to join us in talking about how important it is President Trump fire R.F.K., Jr. Anything less is lying to yourself, while R.F.K., Jr., lies to the American people about things as basic, as established, and as lifesaving as vaccine safety. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I am so glad that we are moving on our first appropriations package of fiscal year 2026. It is a package of bipartisan funding bills that invest in our communities and reject damaging cuts from Trump and House Republicans. I want to acknowledge the chair, my partner, Senator from Maine, who has worked really hard to get these bills to this point. And I appreciate the tremendous amount of effort she and the subcommittee chairs have put into this, as well as our ranking members. If you think like I do that we cannot have another slush fund CR that gives away more power to Trump; and if you think like I do that we need to reject a budget that was so plainly written by political appointees who do not care or know what our States need, instead make the investments we all know are best for the people we represent, then let me be clear: Bills like this are the best chance we have to get the best outcome for folks back home. In this package, we fully fund the WIC program and reject Trump's efforts to eliminate international food aid programs, rural housing support, and food boxes that feed hundreds of thousands of seniors. We reject Trump's call to cut FDA funding by hundreds of millions and slash ag research funding for universities across the country. And we make investments to support our servicemembers and their families and to keep our promises to veterans--funding VA healthcare, fighting for veteran homelessness, and more. Crucially, we don't just have investments in this bill, but also new provisions to hold this and any administration accountable to deliver for our veterans--requiring VA maintains staffing levels to meet their own goals so we can stop the damage being caused by Trump's mass firing of our VA workers; requiring briefings and information so Congress--all of us--can actually get answers on how Trump's new discriminatory policies are affecting our veterans; and withholding some funding until Congress knows these programs are actually working, like for the Electronic Health Record program, where some research will be held until VA certifies new systems are safe and are effective for our veterans. In addition to this package, we will vote on a Leg Branch bill that rejects Trump's efforts to gut the Government Accountability Office; invests in the Congressional Budget Office and the Congressional Research Service to keep government accountable to laws and facts; and in security for the Capitol and for our Members, something I know everyone here is concerned about. We have written these bills under challenging circumstances. Russ Vought is illegally hiding the apportionments data we all need to have to do our jobs. And we all recognize he has been illegally blocking funding we all passed for our communities, at least until the courts step in or public pressure forces his hand. If you are as mad as I am about an unelected bureaucrat like Russ Vought trying to overrule Congress and our constitutional role, you should support these bills. This is--this is--how we exercise the power of the purse and make sure the voices of our constituents are heard when it comes to Federal spending. We know his true motivations; it is pretty transparent. He wants Congress to be more partisan--he has said so--and less powerful. They want to gut programs left and right without giving us any say whatsoever. So I believe we have to reject that path and assert our authority and fight for our communities. We will do that today by passing this bipartisan funding package and pushing ahead with the other bipartisan bills we have in the pipeline as well. The bills we are moving today show bipartisan work is possible. And the cuts we were able to reject and investments we were able to secure show this to all of us: This is worthwhile. I hope all of my colleagues join with me in voting for these bills and work with me to keep this progress going. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the Appropriations Committee takes very seriously the oversight and accountability of every CDS request. The project and certifications for each item are posted on both the committee website and Members' official website. Senators have to certify that neither they nor any immediate family member has a financial interest in the item request, and GAO, which is Congress's nonpartisan auditor, conducts an analysis of select projects every year. The Johnson amendment would prohibit virtually any public communication about CDS and make the process less transparent. This amendment states the remedy for breaking that new rule, for telling our constituents what we are doing is to rescind that CDS. This is an important way for Senators to advocate for their States and communities through investments in local projects like improving transportation, drinking water infrastructure, workforce programs, childcare centers. This amendment would take away your ability to be responsive to your communities. We absolutely should be letting our constituents know what we are doing here and what we are advocating for. I strongly urge you to oppose this amendment. Vote on Amendment No. 3428

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I echo the thanks to all of our subcommittee and committee members and especially to the chair of our committee, Senator Collins, all of our staff--everyone who has worked really hard to get here. These are good, bipartisan bills--bills that make crucial investments to help all of our farms and families and veterans and servicemembers thrive. I urge a ``yes'' vote. I believe Congress should decide how to spend taxpayer dollars. This is how we do it. Vote yes. Vote on Amendment No. 3411, as Amended

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, the National Counterterrorism Center plays a crucial role keeping our country safe. The Agency is responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence to help protect our Nation from terrorist threats. It is sober, serious work that requires a level head and a commitment to putting the mission before politics, which is why I am deeply alarmed that Republicans are charging ahead to put it under the thumb of a conspiracy theorist who espouses White supremacist views and is patently unqualified for this important role in just about every way imaginable. You are supposed to pick people with qualifications, but just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming. There is his track record chumming it up with White supremacists, from discussing campaign strategy with avowed White supremacist Nick Fuentes to giving an interview to a guy who has defended Hitler, to rallying with the founder of a far-right paramilitary group. And let's not forget the Proud Boy that he hired as a consultant. And it is not just his connections. There is his own bigoted statements, like claiming Islam is ``based on conquest at its core'' and pushing racist ``replacement theory'' rhetoric. That is alarming stuff. Let's be frank: These are White supremacist views, and they should have absolutely no place in our Federal Government. And then there is his track record of politicizing intelligence, like when he was caught redhanded pushing to change intelligence reports-- facts be damned--so they would agree with Trump and attack Biden. Joe Kent also has a track record of peddling conspiracies and attacking law enforcement, from saying our country is at war with a ``leftist cabal'' or calling to completely defund the FBI and ATF, Agencies that keep Americans safe from foreign and domestic threats, or pushing the offensive and false conspiracy that the January 6 insurrection was somehow a deep-state plot. You want to know who in the Federal Government was behind the insurrection? How about we start with the man in the White House who promised to march to the Capitol with them. How about we start with the President who calls rioters patriots. How about we start with the guy who pardoned violent cop beaters en masse. If you cannot be honest with the American people about January 6, you have no business being trusted with protecting our democracy. It should be that simple. And let's not forget, Joe Kent was on the infamous Signalgate chat, where classified attack plans were discussed with no regard for security, for law, not to mention the safety of our servicemembers. You know what he had to say about that? He said no classified information was discussed. That was the answer he gave at his Senate confirmation hearing. Now, it is obvious that answer was a complete lie. Last week, the Pentagon's watchdog confirmed there was classified information in that Signal chat. So was Kent being intentionally dishonest or does he not understand what classified information is? Either way, it is completely disqualifying, which, as I think I made clear, is pretty much the pattern here. So here is my warning to Republicans. Confirming someone like Joe Kent to lead the National Counterterrorism Center makes about as much sense as putting Donald Trump in charge of releasing the Epstein files after all that we have learned. We have all the evidence we could ever need in the public record right now that he is not going to do the right thing, and we have no reason to believe he will do this important, high-stakes work in a serious, impartial manner, let alone a competent one. So I am here to urge all my colleagues to join me in doing exactly what people back in Washington State have done each time they were asked to trust Joe Kent: vote no. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, and I appreciate the Senator from Utah being here tonight to offer this package, but I believe there needs to be a more bipartisan and thoughtful way to consider how we protect the future of our public lands. For example, the legislation that the senior Senator from Utah wants to pass tonight does not include my Wild Olympics bill. Now, this is a bill that will help preserve the wild and scenic rivers of the Olympic Peninsula. That has very strong support from Democrats and Republicans in my State. There is a strong nonpartisan coalition of support for this bill from Tribes, hunters, fishermen, conservationists, and even loggers. That is because my bill supports the peninsula economy and ensures continued access to our world-class outdoor recreation on the Olympic Peninsula, and it preserves critical habitat for salmon and water resources for our very rural communities. Moreover, this bill has passed the House several times now with bipartisan support. In fact, I have been working on this for over a decade to build support and consensus around this bill. It is carefully drafted, it is a thoughtful piece of legislation, and the grassroots support for this bill has only grown over the years. That is exactly the kind of bill which should be included in a bipartisan public lands package. I would invite the senior Senator from Utah to visit the land this bill covers, to help protect our Olympic National Forest. I think you would find out why I am here tonight objecting to this because it doesn't include it. I want the Senator from Utah to know that my door is always open. I hope that in the future, we can work together in drafting a public lands bill that does include legislation like my Wild Olympics bill, and I know I am not alone. Many of our colleagues have worked on important legislation for their respective States. So for now, I object, but I do so with my hand outstretched, ready to work with the Senator together on a public lands package that is comprehensive.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 6 minutes prior to the vote.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, today, I will be voting to move ahead with the first spending bill for fiscal year 2026. Now, there is no doubt that the path forward on appropriations this year has been made extremely challenging by President Trump's flagrant lack of regard for Congress and our laws, and it has not been made any easier by the unprecedented partisan rescissions package that Republicans passed last week. But we cannot afford another slush fund, full-year CR, and we cannot accept the draconian cuts being pushed by Trump and House Republicans. So we do need to chart a different path forward and pass full-year, bipartisan spending bills that invest in folks back home and make sure Congress and our constituents have a say in Federal spending. The way, of course, to ensure that happens is through a bipartisan appropriations process. So I am very glad that, thanks to the senior Senator from Georgia, working across the aisle with his partner, the senior Senator from Arkansas, we were able to negotiate and report out of committee a good bill to fund our military construction needs and the Department of Veterans Affairs in fiscal year 2026. As the daughter of a World War II veteran, the programs we fund in the MILCON-VA bill are very personal to me. Doing right by our vets and getting them the care they need and the support they were promised is a moral obligation, which is why I am pleased to say the MILCON-VA bill we are voting on delivers the funding needed to live up to our Nation's commitments to our veterans and makes crucial investments to support our servicemembers and our national security. The bill includes essential funds for VA care, including rural health, women's health, medical research, and the caregivers program I have long championed, and for the first time, it puts funding levels for those important programs in statute. It also expands the pilot I started to make sure that childcare is not a barrier to any veteran who needs care and increases funding to address veteran homelessness and mental health needs. When it comes to supporting our servicemembers and their families, there are investments for nearly 300 construction projects, including new family housing construction and child development centers. There are also investments to bolster our footprint in the Pacific and support our NATO projects. These are incredibly important to our soldiers, to our veterans, and to our national security. No doubt there is more I would like to see done in this bill. It is not, of course, the bill I would have written on my own. But I do hope Republicans will work with us now to consider critical amendments to improve the bill and make sure the administration actually delivers for veterans, something I think it has certainly failed to do on many fronts over the last few months. There is also some discussion of adding two other funding bills that we have negotiated and reported out of committee to make this a minibus package. These are solid, compromised bills that reject the truly draconian cuts proposed by President Trump and House Republicans, and I would like to see them considered by the full Senate. Now, for that to happen, I hope Republicans will work with us to ensure, once again, that there is an opportunity to debate and amend all three bills. So I am a ``yes'' vote on moving forward today with debate of the MILCON-VA bill, and I hope we can keep this process moving because passing our appropriations bills is the best way we can make sure Federal spending reflects the needs we are hearing about in our States and actually solves problems for people at home. No one wants a shutdown, and the way we avoid that shutdown is by working together. That is not a secret, not a surprise; it is a reality we all know. As the majority leader noted recently, the math tells us that it takes 60. It takes bipartisan cooperation. Unfortunately, Republicans have been chipping away at that cooperation, especially with the rescissions vote last week. But, to be clear, if Republicans continue cutting bipartisan deals with more rescissions, that is not cooperation. If Republicans try and jam through another slush-fund CR, that is not cooperation. So for anyone considering the partisan route, you cannot write a bill without talking to Democrats and then act surprised when Democrats don't support it. You want our votes; you work with us. And this bill today that we are considering shows that is possible. So I want to applaud the bipartisan work of the senior Senators from Georgia and Arkansas to get us to this point, and I hope all of our colleagues can take that lesson to heart as we move forward with consideration of this bill and our work on bipartisan bills to fund the government and avoid a shutdown. Let's stay focused on that instead of embracing Russ Vought's vision for a Congress that is more partisan, less powerful, and less able to make life better for the people we represent. I yield the floor. Vote on Motion

Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. MURRAY

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, 2 weeks ago, Republicans were jamming through the most expensive bill in the history of the country. And now, they say they are worried about the debt. Two weeks ago, Republicans said $4 trillion in tax cuts for the richest people in the world was nothing, literally. And now, they are saying a truly tiny fraction of that for rural radio is just too much. So I have to ask: Is this a joke? Are they really that bad at math? First, Republicans were saying trillions in tax cuts were free. Get real. And now they are pretending to be fiscal hawks by shutting down local news and letting epidemics go unchecked around the world. Here is another math lesson for my colleagues. Republicans could cut every dollar ever spent on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting since it was created down to the last dime, and it still would not cover the cost of the bill Republicans just jammed through. Republicans could actually cut every dollar we have spent on foreign aid since World War II, and that would still fall short compared to the cost of the Republican tax cuts. Republicans could even cut the amount in the first rescissions bill every single day for a year, and it still would not equal their tax cuts to help their rich donors. So make no mistake, if Republicans choose to do Trump's bidding, if they push through this package to rip away funding for emergency alerts and global health programs, it is not because they take the debt seriously. And that will be just as true for the next package because, let's be clear, if Republicans go along with this package--despite the fact that they clearly have issues with it and despite the fact Russ Vought has refused to answer the most basic questions, even from the Republican chair of the Appropriations Committee, about which programs he is going to cut--if all of that is not enough to give Republicans just some pause and they let Russ Vought steamroll them through this package, don't be surprised when he sends more cuts down the pike. It could be medical research and afterschool programs, maybe heating assistance, workplace safety, road maintenance. Everything is going to be on the chopping block. And all our time here in the Senate is going to be spent on those requests. Here is the kicker. No matter how many rescissions Russ Vought sends, no matter how many rescissions Republicans just roll over and let pass, they will never offset the trillions in tax cuts they just passed without blinking an eye because you could rescind the entire fiscal year 2025 spending bill twice over, and it still would not cover the $4 trillion in tax cuts Republicans just showered on the richest people in this country. So however this vote goes, expect to hear more from me on this every time Republicans try to pretend that we do not have enough money for childcare or medical research or other programs that our families rely on. I have said a lot about how patently absurd it is for Republicans to pretend they are passing these cuts because they care about the debt, but I do not want to lose sight of the larger issues. It is not just Republicans play-acting about the debt that is absurd. The bigger problem here is that these cuts would be devastating for our communities and for American interests around the globe. When it comes to local news, these cuts could force local stations that people know and trust--know and trust--off the air. This isn't just about a program or two taking a haircut. Trump wants to slash every penny of Federal funding that supports over 1,500 local TV and radio stations. Those stations and those funds reach 98 percent of all Americans, and they are especially crucial for serving our rural areas and Tribal communities. Dozens of these stations rely on these investments for half of their funding and some rely on it for as much as 99 percent. If these cuts go through, those stations go dark, weather forecasters communities have turned to for years, news anchors that are their trusted voices, local reporters who track down answers their communities need and hold their officials to account will be sent packing, and those stations will go silent. Do we want our farmers to have good local coverage of weather and market conditions? Do we want our Tribal communities to know what is going on at their State capital? Do we want families to have updates about the local school board on community events? Because this package of cuts throws all of that in jeopardy, to say nothing of emergency alerts. These stations can be a lifeline when disasters strikes. They are a trusted source of information and sometimes the only source people have access to. When the devastating wildfires hit Southern California earlier this year, public radio broadcasts let millions of people know how to stay safe. When Hurricane Helene battered North Carolina, a local public radio station was the only source of information for many people. And, in fact, many stations use their towers to actually deliver emergency alerts to people's cell phones when cell towers go down. This funding supports stations that play an integral role in many of our States' emergency planning. Do you think our communities should have less warning in an emergency? Do you want to leave folks back home with less information when they are in harm's way? Well, I guess you vote for this bill if that is how you feel. I want you to know, I am a hard no. Let's not pretend a secret deal from Trump and Vought to reallocate $10 million is somehow a serious fix to this. It is a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the massive cuts being pushed through here. In fact, it is less than 1 percent of the overall funding that this package would rip away for public broadcasting and those alerts. Don't forget, these cuts will impact some of our kids' and parents' favorite educational shows--``Sesame Street,'' ``Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,'' ``Daniel Tiger.'' PBS Kids has a long track record of creating shows that are beloved, not just because they keep kids entertained but because they are thoughtfully crafted to help them learn and grow, to stoke their curiosity, to teach them caring and empathy. Any parent will tell you that is a worthwhile investment, and any parent will also warn you, if you take away shows like this that gets kids engaged and gets them thinking, take that away, then there is an avalanche of brain-rot television waiting to fill that void, content that is crafted not to get kids thinking but to keep them watching at all costs. We have to save ``Sesame Street.'' We have to tell Trump and Vought Big Bird is not on the chopping block in this country. And we have to send this rescissions package to Oscar's place--a.k.a. the trash can. Mr. President, I want to talk, as well, about the devastating cuts that this package proposes to foreign assistance. I thought America's leadership was important to Republicans. But apparently, they want to pennypinch when it comes to keeping our commitments across the world. Apparently, they want to save money by letting families starve and kids die of preventable diseases because that is what this package will do. And this isn't some thought exercise. We have already seen how the first round of reckless DOGE cuts are working out. There is already a growing death toll and a huge leadership void that our competitors are racing to fill--people who needed healthcare, but Elon Musk shut down the only clinic for miles; kids contracting diseases like HIV and malaria because Trump totally upended our global health response. And let's not forget they are going to destroy contraceptives we have already purchased, rather than distribute them. People are starving to death while food supplies from our American companies are sitting rotting in ports. That is another part of why America's farmers are coming out in opposition to this bill, by the way. This week, 500 tons of high-energy biscuits expired--food that we already paid for, food that was meant to save lives. And because Trump and Elon Musk blasted USAID to smithereens and couldn't be bothered to fix the mess that they caused, this food is now going to be incinerated, even as people we promised to help watch their kids starve. That is outrageous, and it is infuriating. Is that what Republicans think of as world leadership? Is it leadership to Republicans when Trump fires thousands of State Department workers who keep our Nation safe and make our voice heard in the world? Is it leadership to Republicans when we pull investments out of international organizations and create a void that our adversaries like China will be all too happy to fill? We already know the DOGE cuts were devastating. We know that. What I don't know is why on Earth Republicans are getting ready today to double down and codify them by passing this bill. And, no, ``because Trump said so'' is not a good answer, especially when it is clear that Russ Vought is the one steering this particular ship. I am not even sure Trump knows what a rescission is. But I am sure Republicans know better than to think these cuts will make our Nation strong. I know that because we passed these investments in a bipartisan way and because I have heard them speak out about how much they hate these cuts. You can go back and watch our hearing on this. Many of our colleagues across the aisle during that hearing voiced deep concerns with these cuts that they now intend to pass today because we all know these investments benefit American businesses that help feed the world. They help stop outbreak. They stop diseases abroad before they threaten and spread and threaten us here at home. They help promote stability and avoid chaos and conflict that can put our interests and our servicemembers in harm's way. They help us advance America's interests and keep our country safe and prosperous. That is the smart thing to do. It is the smart thing to do. And, of course, it is also the right thing to do. So it is worth saying, cutting these investments is just downright wrong. We should not be voting to let children starve or die from preventable diseases. We should not be voting to go back on our word to the world. Saving a couple of pennies is not worth losing our credibility or causing millions of needless deaths across the globe. It is not even close. I want to impress upon one final point, and that is: It did not have to be this way, and it still does not have to be this way. In fact, if Republicans come to their senses and vote this down, we can still go a different route. We can do what we have always done and consider bipartisan rescissions as part of our annual appropriations process. That offer has always been on the table, and it still is. I have heard Republicans say they don't like this package. In fact, they are trying to dial it back the tiniest bit. I have also heard they don't want to spend the next several months processing these requests out here on the floor instead of focusing on our annual funding bills or any number of other pressing priorities. So don't vote for it. Work with us to write bills that make targeted rescissions on a bipartisan basis. You don't work for Donald Trump. You don't work for Russ Vought. You actually work for your constituents. You can put them first, and you can vote this package down. That has some real benefits compared to going down the path of this unprecedented--unprecedented--partisan rescission. I am serious. I want my Republican colleagues to think about this-- and I mean really think about it. For one thing, if we do things the normal, bipartisan way, you get to assert your say as a Senator about what is getting targeted. It is not just, ``This is what Russ Vought says. Take it or leave it.'' You can actually be part of the discussion and speak out for what is important to you. For another thing, if we go the bipartisan route, you don't have to get jammed by this deadline. Instead of rushing through these cuts this week, without fully getting to consider and debate them, instead of being told: No, you can't change this; we don't have time, we can all sit down, make thoughtful decisions, and maybe even make worthwhile changes as we go. Here is an important point: If we do rescissions together through our appropriations bills instead of just letting Trump and Vought just jam them through whenever they want, my colleagues would actually know what in the world they are voting for because let's get one thing straight: Republicans don't actually know what programs are going to get cut if they pass this package. We don't know. It is one of the great outrages of this package. Russ Vought is just outright refusing to tell us what programs he is going to cut if this package passes. At our hearing with him, he refused to go into detail. He stonewalled us. We asked, and we asked. The chair--the Republican chair--even asked him about this, but OMB would not tell us. The question is, What will you cut? The answer has been: Pass it. We will see. That is why the Republicans decided to protect just a handful of programs without actually reducing the funding that was associated with them because they do not know the impact of this bill. So they preserve funding for Jordan, Egypt, and a few university partnerships. What about our allies in the Indo-Pacific? What about the implementers of these programs in our States? None of us should accept not having those answers. I am sure my colleagues were told their priorities won't be impacted, but Director Vought cannot keep that promise given the scale of these cuts. The math does not add up. Even if you believe we should make cuts, you should be joining us to demand we actually know what is being cut. If we do this the right way, the bipartisan way, we would know because we would be writing the bill. We would. Now, doesn't that sound a lot better than just passing this Pandora's box and finding out later what got cut? Finally--I have said this before several times, but I want to warn my colleagues, once again--if you keep going down this path, you are going to further undermine our bipartisan process. We have never--never before--seen bipartisan investments slashed through a partisan rescissions package. Do not start now, not when we are working at this very moment in a bipartisan way to pass our spending bills. As I said earlier, bipartisanship doesn't end with any one line being crossed. It erodes. It breaks down bit by bit until, one day, there is nothing else. Sure, a few Members may be willing to stick it out and work as hard as they can to get a result, but this Senate doesn't work off a few Members; it works off of consensus-building, and the more bridges you burn, the fewer paths you leave to get things done. So why go down this partisan path? Why vote to spend the next many weeks considering more and more of these packages? Why do it for a set of cuts that is so damaging, a set of cuts many of you have concerns with? We are at the table right now--the Appropriations Committee right now. We are writing bipartisan spending bills, and we absolutely can and will discuss bipartisan rescissions. Why don't you all join us and make the work easier instead of making that work harder by passing this bill and setting a very painful new precedent. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, we are about to vote on this package, but I wanted to first make sure my colleagues understood that we are not just voting on whether local news stations shut down or whether communities can get information in an emergency or whether or not America retreats on the world's stage and break its word or whether or not we let children die of hunger or preventable diseases just to save a few pennies. All of that is at stake here, but there is a lot more at stake as well, like whether we allow partisan rescissions to cut bipartisan funds for the first time ever--colleagues need to understand that, for the first time ever--or whether Russ Vought can steamroll this body and whether Republicans will pass a bill of cuts when they don't even know what is in it. I mean, really, I have heard Members complain to high heaven about not having time to read a bill before voting on it. Well, this is even worse. The administration has outright refused to tell us what will get cut if Republicans pass this bill. Even the Republican leader admits that. This is a Pandora's box of cuts. What I want to leave my colleagues with is this: We are not just voting on the devastating cuts in this package, we are also voting on how the Senate is going to spend the rest of the year. Are we just going to do rescission after rescission? Because we know Russ Vought is just itching to send us more. And as you have all seen throughout this process and as we have seen at every hearing we have had with him, he doesn't care if you feel steamrolled; he doesn't care if you want more details; he doesn't care whether you want different cuts. So the vote before us right now is really about do we--we are elected representatives, all of us--want to write the laws and even consider targeted rescissions within those bills? Do we want to have time to move them on the floor or do we want to spend every day, every week here debating how much of the last spending bill to unravel and whose communities get robbed? This will not be a hard vote for me, and it really should not be a hard vote for any one of us. I am a strong no, and I hope all of our colleagues will join us. I yield the floor.

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, this amendment reflects what Senate Republicans landed on after a long discussion 2 days ago, zeroing out every penny of Federal support for local radio and TV stations our constituents rely on, ripping away investments in emergency alerts, gutting lifesaving aid, and making steep cuts to foreign policy investments we have made on a bipartisan basis. You might ask: What are those cuts? And even some of my Republican colleagues have said: We don't know because this administration will not tell us. So while this amendment makes one small trim, it seeks to protect just a handful of priorities without actually reducing any of the overall cuts. The reality is, Republicans are planning to rubberstamp President Trump's request. It is our communities, our reputation, our interest around the globe that will suffer the consequences. I will be voting no on this amendment and on final passage. I encourage my colleagues to do the same.